SEA Games warm-up: Hosts finish 2nd in Vietnam football cup

October 24, 2011 | 15:27

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Uzbekistan’s U23 team took the trophy of the Vietnam Football Federation-Eximbank Cup at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi Sunday as the hosts came second after drawing with Malaysia.

Vietnam’s midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang (L) in action during the U23 Vietnam vs. U23 Malaysia game at Hanoi’s My Dinh National Stadium on Oct. 23, 2011

U23 Malaysia tied U23 Vietnam 1-1 in the last game of the Southeast Asia Games warm-up competition. Therefore, the Uzbek side gained the trophy with US$25,000 in cash prize after beating U23 Myanmar 2-1.

The hosts came second, followed by Malaysia and then Myanmar in the pre-SEA Games tournament, which saw the four teams competing in a round robin format.

Vietnam missed their last chance to win the cup when a striker Hoang Dinh Tung shot just before the final whistle hit the post.

Midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang fired for the hosts in the 25th minute with a high shot from 20 meters. His teammate Nguyen Van Quyet had a clear chance to broaden the gap but he failed to beat the Malaysia goalkeeper in a head-to-head situation.

Malaysia, the SEA Games defending champions, equalized just before the break with an unstoppable free kick from 25 meters by captain Baddrol Bakhtiar.

Vietnam beat Myanmar 5-0 Wednesday and drew Uzbekistan 1-1 Friday before the last matchday of the tournament.

The Uzbek side, who beat Malaysia 3-1 Wednesday, won the cup with two wins and one draw.

Indonesia will host the 26th SEA Games in November. In the men’s football, the hosts are in Group A together with defending champions Malaysia, regional powerhouse Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia. Group B has six teams: Brunei, East Timor, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.

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